Sorry, neighbors

All this work in the backyard is making an unsightly mess. Chicken wire, rocks, shovels, pots, you name it — it’s all over the place. So, to our neighbors, we are very sorry that you have to look into our backyard at this mess. We’ll get it under control soon, promise.

The sun sets on our backyard mess

Good news is that today’s sun brought some warmth and some courage to get outside for most of the day. Blair finished double-digging half of the east bed. With a few more evenings in the yard this week after work, it’ll be ready for planting. While Blair dug…and dug…and dug, I planted…and planted…and planted. The west bed is completely full now; it was just missing the broccoli and cabbage that had been hanging out in a seed flat.

The west bed finished and labeled for your viewing pleasure (click on image to enlarge)

I also prepped a raised area that we’ve been planting in for a few years by tilling the soil and adding compost; egg shells; and turkey manure, which I managed to get all over my pants. This area is what I’d like to call the “control group.” The biointensive/double-digging method is the experiment, but if it doesn’t work, we’ve at least got a few plants in an area that we know works. Which plants? Brandywine and Costoluto Genovese heirloom tomatoes, rosemary, cilantro, onions, garlic, and lots of random flowers from soap containers and pieces of paper that claim to be infused with seeds (been saving these up for a while now). Other than being the control group, some of these plants just honestly didn’t fit into our ground-level plots. 😉

The "control group" of plants along the west side of the house

And tonight, we’re dipping down to 31 degrees (perhaps the last spring frost?). Have no fear, the plants are covered (literally).